Early PTSD symptom sub-clusters predicting chronic posttraumatic stress following sexual assault

Bibliographic Data

ID15687241
AuthorsTeresa L Marino Carper (Orlando VA Medical Center, corresponding author), Teresa L Carper, Mary Alice Mills (VA Boston Healthcare System), Maria M Steenkamp (0000-0003-4250-375X, New York University), Angela Nickerson (0000-0001-9171-4209, UNSW Sydney), Kristalyn Salters‐Pedneault (Eastern Connecticut State University), Kristalyn Salters-Pedneault, Brett T Litz (0000-0002-0479-8887, VA Boston Healthcare System)
Year2015
Volume7
Issue5
Pages442-447
Publication date2015-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1942-969X • E-ISSN: 1942-9681
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/tra0000060
PMID26121173
OpenAlexW2273859451
LanguageEN
References cited11

Contemporary models of PTSD disaggregate this disorder into sub-clusters that differentially impact functioning. Severity of different types of PTSD symptoms in the acute posttrauma period may be predictive of the course of PTSD over time. Few research studies, however, have examined the predictive utility of PTSD sub-clusters. This study sought to determine the relative predictive validity of 4 sub-clusters, namely reexperiencing, strategic avoidance, emotional numbing, and hyperarousal, assessed within 1 month of a sexual assault. Women (N=120) who had been sexually assaulted completed self-report measures at 1 and 4 months postassault. Linear regression analyses revealed that early reexperiencing and emotional numbing sub-clusters uniquely contributed to the prediction of PTSD symptoms at month 4 (strategic avoidance and hyperarousal did not). To help explain and contextualize these findings, we explored the extent to which posttraumatic cognitions mediated the relationship between acute reexperiencing and emotional numbing and later PTSD symptoms. Simultaneous multiple mediation analyses revealed that general negative cognitions about the self significantly mediated the relationship between both reexperiencing and emotional numbing and month 4 PTSD symptoms. These findings have significant clinical implications, pointing to the importance of targeting posttraumatic cognitions in the acute posttrauma phase

Cognition · Injury prevention · Mediation · Poison control · Posttraumatic stress · Predictive validity · Psychiatry · Child Abuse and Trauma · Clinical Psychology · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Medicine · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology

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